In general a voltage is applied to parts to be treated via a support for the part; and the electric contact which applies the voltage to the part to be treated (which is to be connected to the positive terminal of a voltage source) is usually provided when the part is already fixed on its support, by means of contact elements made of very hard material capable of withstanding electric arcing phenomena. Since these parts convey high currents, e.g. 500 to 1500 A, depending on the surface areas of the parts to be enamelled, known contact devices often have the disadvantage of requiring holes in the parts to be treated so that the arcing phenomena will not damage these parts too much. In practice this makes it essential to have one type of support per type of part to be treated.
The invention aims to remedy the above disadvantage by producing contacts and contact supports which are independent from the part support and preferred embodiments of the invention can convey high currents so that the conductors:
are not enamelled during the electrophoresis operation when there is no part on the support, as this would require a difficult or even impossible cleaning; PA0 are not made to undergo chemical treatments (alkaline and acid etching) which could damage them or their insulators; and PA0 are not made to undergo a flow of hot air when the parts are being dried after enamelling (problem of the high temperature behaviour of the insulators).
The invention also makes it possible for several types of parts to be placed on universal supports thereby avoiding the need to manufacture expensive supports, each individual to one type of part.